I've Come to Bring Fire

And we should remember that as Jesus says these things, he was surrounded by a huge crowd of many thousands.

! And within this crowd is quite the variety. There are Pharisees. There's Jesus' disciples.

! There's many who are just here to see Jesus and to hear what he has to say.

We're in Luke chapter 12, verse 49.

Luke 12:49

And Jesus says this,

I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled.

But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed.

Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No.

But division.

From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other.

Three against two.

And two against three.

They will be divided.

Father against son.

And son against father.

Mother against daughter.

And daughter against mother.

Mother-in-law against daughter-in-law.

And daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

He said to the crowd,

When you see a cloud rising in the west,

immediately you say,

It's going to rain.

And it does.

And when the south wind blows,

you say,

It's going to be hot.

And it is.

Hypocrites.

You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky.

How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?

As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate,

try hard to be reconciled on the way.

Or your adversary may drag you off to the judge.

And the judge turn you over to the officer.

And the officer throw you into prison.

I tell you,

you will not get out

until you have paid

the last penny.

So Jesus speaks briefly on three different subjects here.

First, he makes a statement about why he has come

and the effect that it will have on people's relationships.

Second, he rebukes many

for their hypocrisy.

And third, he offers a specific

word of wisdom

to those who are in conflict

with others.

And I'd like to work through

these three pieces

in reverse order.

So we're going to start with the last one

in verse 58.

Here Jesus offers

a very specific word of wisdom

to those who are in conflict with others.

As you're going

with your adversary

to the magistrate,

try hard to be reconciled on the way.

Or your adversary

may drag you off

to the judge

and the judge

turn you over

to the officer

and the officer

throw you into prison.

I tell you,

you will not get out

until you have paid

the last penny.

So this is a very specific

kind

of conflict.

We have a person

and his accuser.

This word was used

specifically

for those who were

bringing a charge

against someone else

in a lawsuit.

Now it's

general enough

that it could cover

any kind of

charge or lawsuit.

But our minds

go very easily

to something

involving

the borrowing

of money.

Since at the end

Jesus says,

you will not get out

of prison

until you have paid

the last penny.

And so as we listen

to his words

we're probably

envisioning someone

who's failed

to make payments

on a debt

and now the accuser

has kind of

come to collect

what is owed.

And Jesus says,

as you're going

with the accuser

to the magistrate,

that's like

a civil judge

or kind of like

in a small claims court,

as you're going

with the accuser

to the magistrate,

try hard

to be reconciled

on the way.

Make an effort

to settle

with your accuser

on the way.

Settle before

you get to the magistrate.

Jesus is giving us

some wisdom.

Before the conflict

progresses

into any kind

of legal hearing,

make an effort

to resolve the conflict

just between you

and that person

bringing a charge

against you.

And it comes

with this warning

of what could happen

if we fail

to settle things

before it gets

to that legal situation.

So he says,

try hard

to be reconciled

on the way

or your adversary

may drag you off

to the judge

and the judge

turn you over

to the officer

and the officer

throw you into prison.

Notice how quickly

things progress

to a far worse

situation.

first you're just

going to

small claims court

we could say.

But next

your accuser

is dragging you

before the judge.

The language

intensifies

because once

the magistrate

gets involved

there's now

a legal verdict

or requirement

that you must

meet

and then if you

don't meet that

then your accuser

can now force you

to appear

before the judge

perhaps the judge

that's sort of

the next level up

and then things

are very soon

out of control.

The judge

gives his verdict

hands you over

to the officer

or kind of like

our modern day

bailiff.

The bailiff

throws you

into prison

and the way

things that worked

back then

is very different

than today.

One source

I read

said that

prisoners

were sometimes

beaten regularly

so that

their family

members would

pay

the debt

that they owed

or their

friends

and of course

they didn't

just let you

go free

back then

for good

behavior

in jail

and they

didn't feed

you or

clothe you

or look

after you

your family

and friends

had to

provide for

your needs

or you

died in

jail.

Prison was

rough back

then

and Jesus

warned saying

I tell you

you will not

get out

until you

pay the

last penny.

Early on

in the

dispute

maybe if

you had

made an

effort

to settle

things

and you'd

scrounged up

enough to

offer even

70 cents

on the

dollar

just maybe

the accuser

would have

been willing

to settle

the debt

and avoid

all the

hassle

that would

be far

better for

both

than you

having to

go through

the courts

and legal

fees and

then there's

the public

shame and

embarrassment

of getting

dragged before

the judge

and then

thrown into

prison.

By the time

it gets to

that point

Jesus says

you won't

get out

until you

have paid

the last

penny.

Every last

penny.

The opportunity

to settle

for what you

can manage

is now

long gone

and the

relationship

between you

and your

opponent

is now

so much

worse

that not

even one

penny less

than what

you owed

will be

required.

And so

the principle

here is

in conflict

with one

another

we are

wise to

settle

things

to deal

with things

as soon

as possible

right at

the beginning

before

things

progress

because the

more we

fight

or the

longer

we

delay

to do

what's

right

by the

other

person

the

harder

it's

going

to

be

the

uglier

it's

going

to

get

and

fast.

Let's

think of

a couple

practical

examples.

Maybe

you're not

thinking

and something

slips out of

your mouth

and you say

something you

just knew

you shouldn't

have said to

a person

in the

conversation.

what should

you do?

Well before

those words

even have

the time

to land

in the

heart

of the

other

person

humble

yourself

before

them

and

apologize

to

them.

Admit

I shouldn't

have said

that.

Would you

please

forgive me?

I'm

sorry.

Settle

it before

there's even

a chance

for it

to progress

any further.

Or we

could apply

this generally

to how we

handle our

financial

problems.

That's

what the

parables

or the

wisdoms

related to

here.

A wise

person of

course avoids

borrowing

if at all

possible

from the

get-go.

As Solomon

said the

borrower is

slave to

the lender.

But then

probably most

people have

not really

lived by

that and

we have

debts.

And what

do we

do?

Well

we sort

of do the

best we

can to

juggle all

the bills

and the

payments

with the

money that's

coming in.

But here's

the rub.

We have

within us

this impulse

to spend.

To get

things that

we don't

have.

Things that

we don't

really need.

But we

desire them

so strongly

and then we

just we do

it.

We go against

our better

judgment and

we reason to

ourselves oh

it'll be

alright.

I know I

probably can't

afford this

thing but

we'll manage

it somehow.

wow.

And then

something

unexpected

happens and

one day

there's not

enough to

pay the

bills when

they come

due.

And then

the phone

starts ringing

and it's

the bank

or the

company.

And in

principle this

same scenario

that Jesus

describes can

play itself

out in our

lives.

We might

not be

thrown in

jail in

our culture

but we

might have

companies that

are unwilling

to provide

services to

us.

We might

have SAS

power threatening

to cut the

power off

or the bank

telling us

that they're

foreclosing.

Or we

might look

out the

window to

see our

vehicle being

taken away

repossessed.

Our reputation

in our

community can

be ruined.

Maybe you

know someone

who's been

through bankruptcy

or had their

wages garnished

or their

vehicle repossessed.

make an

effort to

settle

says Jesus

before it

gets out

of hand.

Try hard

before it

gets to

that legal

situation.

That's the

first piece

of wisdom

that Jesus

gives

or the

first one

that we're

looking at

anyway.

Let's now

look at what

Jesus said

before all

this in

the verses

prior

starting in

verse 54.

Jesus said

to the

crowd when

you see a

cloud rising

in the west

immediately you

say it's

going to

rain.

And it

does.

And when

the south

wind blows

you say it's

going to be

hot.

And it

is.

Hypocrites

you know

how to

interpret the

appearance of

the earth

and the

sky.

How is it

that you

don't know

how to

interpret

this present

time?

This is a

rebuke from

Jesus.

He straight

up calls

them

hypocrites.

Normally

that word

brings to

mind a

person who

says one

thing and

then does

another.

A person

who calls

people to

a certain

standard of

righteousness

but then

doesn't live

that way

themselves.

And that's

right.

That is what

the word

means.

But the

word can

also have

this very

strong idea

of being

an actor.

Being a

pretender.

And Jesus

seems to

say that

they're

pretending

that they

don't

understand the

present

time.

This is

the pinnacle

moment in

the story of

the world.

And especially

in the story

of God and

his people.

people.

As we've

seen God

has given

countless

signs that

this is it.

That his

son Jesus

is the

Messiah.

He is the

son of

God.

He is the

savior that

we need.

And God

has unleashed

his power in

all kinds of

miracles,

wonders,

exorcisms,

healings.

And some

are seeing

these signs

and recognizing

that the

time of

God's

fulfillment

is here.

But many

are sort

of faking

ignorance.

They're

pretending

or acting

as if

nothing too

special

is happening.

As if

nothing

conclusive

is going

on.

We've

heard how

the Pharisees

will stop

at nothing

to explain

away the

miracles of

Jesus.

Oh,

he did

that by

the power

of the

devil.

Or he

did that

on the

Sabbath

day.

But we

don't even

really know

who his

father is,

so how

can we

trust anything

he says?

And Jesus

is calling

them on the

carpet here.

He says,

you guys

are pretenders.

You guys

are able

to discern

what the

weather's

going to

do based

on the

telltale

signs.

And so

you're

able to

understand

what God

is doing

right now

because you

see the

telltale

signs.

You're

pretending

that you

don't know

what's

going on.

But you

do know.

You're

deliberately

refusing to

acknowledge

the times

that we're

in.

You're

refusing to

acknowledge

me.

what about

you?

Have you

acknowledged

Jesus as

Messiah?

As the

Son of

God?

As the

Savior you

need?

Do you

see the

signs that

God gave

to show

that it's

true?

are you

pretending to

not really

understand who

Jesus is

or what

he asks?

As I've

often said

we might be

able to

fool the

people around

us but

we can't

fool God.

We can't

fool Jesus.

He sees

right through.

Finally

let's look at

that first

thing that

Jesus said

in this

passage.

these

least

some of

the least

popular

words of

Jesus.

Verse

49

I have

come to

bring fire

on the

earth

and how

I wish

it were

already

kindled

but I

have a

baptism

to undergo

and what

constraint

I am

under

until it

is

completed.

Do you

think I

came to

bring peace

on earth?

No

I tell

you

but

division.

From

now on

there

will

be

five

in one

family

divided

against

each

other.

Three

against

two

and

two

against

three.

They will

be divided

father

against

son

and

son

against

father.

mother

and

daughter

against

mother.

In all

my years

as a

follower

of Jesus

I have

seen the

inside of

many

Christian

bookstores

many

cards

many

posters

plaques

figurines

and

journals

with many

different

Bible

verses

on them

but I have

never seen

these words

on any

of those

things.

I have

come to

bring fire

on the

earth

and how

I wish

it were

already

kindled.

What is

Jesus

talking

about

here?

All

throughout

the Bible

the language

of fire

like this

has to do

with judgment.

It has to

do with

punishment

from God.

In fact

if we

think back

over parts

of the

Old

Testament

story

there's

quite a

few

times

when God

literally

actually

did

bring

fire

down

upon

the

earth

and

not

just

to

scorch

the

land

like

a

natural

disaster

but

to

burn

up

to

destroy

people

and

the

pattern

that we

see in

the

Bible

is that

God

does

this

as a

punishment

for

wickedness.

The

very first

time we

read of

something

like this

in the

Bible

is the

story

of

Sodom

and

Gomorrah

two

exceedingly

wicked

cities

of the

ancient

world.

So

wicked

that

God

said

the

outcry

against

those

cities

from

all

the

neighboring

peoples

had

reached

his

ears.

They

were

praying

for

God

to

deal

with

them

and

do

something

about

them.

So

wicked

that

the

men

of

those

cities

would

gang

rape

strangers

who

were

passing

through

and

eventually

God

says

enough

is

enough

I'm

going

to

give

them

what

they're

due

and

God

rains

down

fire

and

brimstone

upon

these

cities

and

destroys

them.

Later

on

in the

story

God

makes

his

presence

known

to

the

children

of

Israel

in

the

form

of

a

pillar

of

fire.

He

would

show

himself

as

a

pillar

of

cloud

during

the

day

and

then

at

night

as

a

pillar

of

fire

as

he

led

the

Israelites

out

of

Egypt

in

the

wilderness

and

there

comes

a

moment

in

the

story

where

two

of

Moses

sons

blatantly

disregard

the

commands

of

the

Lord

and

in

Leviticus

Leviticus 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

we read

about

how

fire

came

out

from

the

presence

of

the

Lord

and

consumed

these

two

sons

of

Moses

a

little

later

on

we

read

about

a

time

when

the

Israelites

are

continually

grumbling

and

complaining

against

God

not

long

after

he

had

rescued

them

from

slavery

in

Egypt

and

fire

from

the

Lord

begins

burning

up

and

consuming

the

outskirts

of the

Israelite

camp

and

then

a

little

later

we

read

about

fire

from

the

Lord

consuming

250

men

who

were

actively

participating

in

the

rebellion

against

Moses

Moses

was the

man

that

the

Lord

had

chosen

to

lead

his

people

and

so

they

weren't

just

opposing

Moses

but

they

were

opposing

the

Lord

as

the

story

goes

on

fire

becomes

not

only

a

thing

of

actual

judgment

but

a

symbol

of

God's

wrath

but

the

important

thing

to

note

is

that

God's

fire

whether

literal

or

his

wrath

is

always

directed

towards

evil

it

always

comes

down

upon

the

wicked

it's

always

pointed

at

sin

it's

a

punishment

for

wickedness

but

it's

also

a

thing

that

purges

wickedness

it

it

removes

it

destroys

it

here's

a couple

key

passages

from the

Old

Testament

that

speak

of

this

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 4:23

chapter

4

verse

23

be

careful

not to

forget

the

covenant

of the

Lord

your

God

that

he

made

with

you

do

not

make

for

yourselves

an

idol

in

the

form

of

anything

the

Lord

your

God

has

forbidden

for

the

Lord

your

God

is

a

consuming

fire

so

to

worship

anything

or

anyone

other

than

the

one

true

creator

God

is

evil

it's

wicked

and

so

God

reminds

them

that

he

is

a

consuming

fire

he

will

destroy

and burn

up

those

who

do

this

with

a

righteous

jealousy

because

all

glory

and

praise

and

worship

rightly

belongs

to

him

and

to

him

alone

Psalm

21

David

is

speaking

to

God

he

says

your

hand

will

lay

hold

on

all

your

enemies

your

right

hand

will

seize

your

foes

when

you

appear

for

battle

you

will

burn

them

up

as

in

a

blazing

furnace

the

Lord

will

swallow

them

up

in

his

wrath

and

his

fire

will

consume

them

you

will

destroy

their

descendants

from

the

earth

their

posterity

from

mankind

though

they

against

you

and

devise

wicked

schemes

they

cannot

succeed

again

we see

that

God's

fire

and

wrath

are

pointed

at

his

enemies

they

are

pointed

at

those

who

plot

evil

and

devise

wickedness

Psalm

Psalms 50:3

50

verse

3

our

God

comes

and

will

not

be

silent

a

fire

devours

before

him

and

around

him

a

tempest

rages

Psalm

Psalms 97:3

97

verse

3

the

Lord

reigns

let

the

earth

be

glad

let

the

distant

shores

rejoice

clouds

and

thick

darkness

surround

him

righteousness

and

justice

are the

foundation

of his

throne

fire

goes

before

him

and

consumes

his

foes

on

every

side

notice

the

connection

here

between

fire

which

consumes

his

enemies

and

justice

God

is not

just

angry

like

the

Hulk

throwing

a temper

tantrum

because

he

can't

have

what

he

wants

no

God's

fire

and

anger

flows

out

of

his

righteousness

and

justice

he

hates

what

is

evil

and

he

loves

what

is

good

and

so

he

destroys

and

he

consumes

wickedness

and

those

who

come

against

him

in

rebellion

in

Isaiah

66

God

speaks

tenderly

to

his

people

and

he

tells

them

that

he

will

make

all

things

new

for

them

he

will

comfort

them

he

will

give

them

peace

and

safety

and

prosperity

he

says

when

you

see

this

your

heart

will

rejoice

and

you

will

flourish

like

grass

the

hand

of

the

Lord

will

be

made

known

to

his

servants

but

his

fury

will

be

shown

to

his

foes

see

the

Lord

is

coming

with

fire

and

his

chariots

are

like

a

whirlwind

he

will

bring

down

his

anger

with

fury

and

his

rebuke

with

flames

of

fire

God

speaking

in

this

passage

of

what

he

will

do

at

the

end

of

our

world's

story

skip

down

to

verse

22

and

we

read

this

!

As the

new

heavens

and the

new

earth

that I

will

make

will

endure

before

me

declares

the

Lord

so

will

your

name

and

descendants

endure

from

one

new

moon

to

another

and

from

one

Sabbath

to

another

all

mankind

will

come

and bow

down

before

me

says

the

Lord

!

And

they

will

go

out

and

look

on

the

dead

bodies

of

those

who

rebelled

against

me

the

worms

that

eat

them

will

not

die

the

fire

that

burns

them

will

not

be

quenched

and

they